To ring in 2023, the social video site Rumble announced an exclusive partnership with Donald Trump Jr. Beginning in late January, the former president’s eldest son will bring to the platform a biweekly livestream show, Triggered with Don Jr., riffing on current events and, presumably, seeking to own the libs. The press release and media coverage touted the multiyear, seven-figure signing as a coup for the company, which went public last September, valued at more than $2 billion. In marketing terms, the deal conveyed momentum for an underdog business looking to disrupt Big Tech by promising freedom from censorship.
Or it could just be a huge waste of money. Trump Jr. already has 1.07 million subscribers on Rumble, which puts him among the top tier of users — in theory. The reality is that despite this formidable audience, his videos often struggle to crack 10,000 views. One of his most-watched clips in the past couple months is a ripped and re-uploaded segment from comedian Dave Chappelle’s most recent Saturday Night Live monologue, with a golden “DON JR.” watermark and about 90 seconds of Trump’s own commentary added to the footage. Other videos, like one captioned “Can’t Make This Stuff Up: Now ‘Shark Week’ Is RACIST? – OMG,” are pulling meager engagement compared to Trump Jr.’s posts on Instagram and Twitter. Rumble will no doubt throw resources into production and promotion of Triggered, so perhaps the show itself will depart from this style of low-effort clickbait.
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